The chief executives of the FA, Rugby Football Union and England and Wales Cricket Board have joined broadcasters including Sky Sports, ITV and YouTube in urging the chancellor, John Healey, to extend tax credits to production of women's sport. The letter, signed by 25 industry figures, calls for the audio-visual expenditure credit scheme, currently available to independent films and children's television, to include a targeted credit for live coverage of women's sport, arguing that only 13% of televised sport watched last year involved women, which they describe as a market failure with economic and public health costs.

The letter was sent on Friday to coincide with the return of the Women's Super League, whose chief executive Nikki Doucet is among the signatories, alongside bosses from British Cycling, golf and Formula One. Signatories argue the credit would generate £1.40 in direct Treasury returns for every £1 invested, plus £6.5bn in indirect public health benefits by 2035, when the UK and Ireland are set to host the Women's World Cup. Notably absent from the list is the BBC, which has axed its weekly Women's Football Show highlights programme despite the WSL previously helping cover its production costs.